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WZTV FOX 17 - Top Stories
Tennessee 5th district Congressman Jim Cooper has had an memorable week of voting.
Tuesday he was one of the few Democrats to vote against the fiscal cliff then Thursday he made another vote against party lines.
The Democratic Congressman chose a republican in the all important vote for speaker of the house who's not in congress, former General Colin Powell.
"My colleagues know I'm a blue dog Democrat. I try to do the right thing for the country," said Cooper.
Cooper says he chose Powell because he believes the House needs a leader who can work with both parties.
"Congress has rarely in all of American History been more broken," said Cooper. "That sort of broad appeal is really important to strengthen the institution because we need a functioning Congress and right now we do not have one."
Cooper says the recent decision not to vote on aid for Hurricane Sandy as an example of how the House is broken.
As for that fiscal cliff deal, Cooper says he voted against it because he couldn't support a bill that made the deficit worse.
"There were a lot of things in there that should not have been in that bill for example tax give-a-ways for NASCAR, motor sports, Hollywood film producers, Puerto Rican rum producers. Why is trash like that in the bill," said Cooper.
Vanderbilt Political Science professor Bruce Oppenheimer says the votes may get attention but they could also end up costing him key committee assignments.
"He's a very bright capable guy who in many ways should be more influential in Congress than he is," said Oppenheimer.
Tuesday he was one of the few Democrats to vote against the fiscal cliff then Thursday he made another vote against party lines.
The Democratic Congressman chose a republican in the all important vote for speaker of the house who's not in congress, former General Colin Powell.
"My colleagues know I'm a blue dog Democrat. I try to do the right thing for the country," said Cooper.
Cooper says he chose Powell because he believes the House needs a leader who can work with both parties.
"Congress has rarely in all of American History been more broken," said Cooper. "That sort of broad appeal is really important to strengthen the institution because we need a functioning Congress and right now we do not have one."
Cooper says the recent decision not to vote on aid for Hurricane Sandy as an example of how the House is broken.
As for that fiscal cliff deal, Cooper says he voted against it because he couldn't support a bill that made the deficit worse.
"There were a lot of things in there that should not have been in that bill for example tax give-a-ways for NASCAR, motor sports, Hollywood film producers, Puerto Rican rum producers. Why is trash like that in the bill," said Cooper.
Vanderbilt Political Science professor Bruce Oppenheimer says the votes may get attention but they could also end up costing him key committee assignments.
"He's a very bright capable guy who in many ways should be more influential in Congress than he is," said Oppenheimer.
Thursday, January 3 2013, 10:38 PM CST
Tennessee News
Miss. chooses new firm to run Woodville prison
May 18, 2013 20:50 GMT
WOODVILLE, Miss. (AP) -- Mississippi officials have picked a new company to run the Wilkinson County Correctional Facility.
Utah-based Management and Training Corp. announced Friday that the Mississippi Department of Corrections has chosen it to run the 1,000-bed prison starting July 1, the Natchez Democrat reports (http://bit.ly/10MvOGv).
Corrections Corporation of America, based in Nashville, Tenn., had run the prison since 1998. MTC says it will keep "the vast majority" of employees.
MTC will get a five-year contract to run the prison with two one-year options. Last year, officials chose MTC to take over East Mississippi Correctional Facility, the Walnut Grove Correctional Facility and the Marshall County Correctional Facility from the GEO Group. MTC won 10-year contracts for each.
CCA still runs the Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility and the Adams County Correctional Center in Mississippi.
Information from: The Natchez Democrat, http://www.natchezdemocrat.com/
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